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Friday, October 30, 2009

Blog Tour: Wisdom Hunter by Randall Arthur

Summary:

"Pastor Jason Faircloth knows what he believes. His clear faith, in fact, is why he is one of the most prominent pastors in Atlanta . He relies on it to discipline his daughter, his wife, his church. He prays daily that others would come to see God’s ways as he does.And it is about to cost him everything.Groping for answers in the face of tragedy, Jason begins a search for the only family he has left: the granddaughter kept hidden from him. Soon he finds himself on an international adventure that will take him straight into the depths of his soul. He is determined not to fail again.A fast-paced suspense novel rich in spiritual depth, Wisdom Hunter explores what it means to break free of Christian legalism—and discover why grace can mean the difference between life and death.

My thoughts: This book started out well with the introduction to Hannah, Pastor Faircloth's young runaway daughter. We find her in Miami, a newly married young woman with her first baby on the way. Life is good for Hannah and her veterinarian husband, Cody. There are enough hints that Hannah's life was none too happy at home with her parents and she had good cause to run away. This scenario made me curious to find out what happened previously and what would ensue.

Then we meet Jason Faircloth; an overly conservative and pompously arrogant pastor of the ultra - conservative North Metro church in Atlanta. He's so staunch in his beliefs and convictions that it is easy to see it was always his way or the highway for anyone in his family.Unfortunately, as his daughter, Hannah felt the highway was her only recourse. When tragedy strikes the Faircloth family, Jason rails against God demanding to know why he let these things happen. Consequently, the result of his crisis of faith compels Jason to leave the church and go on a quest that will take him to Miami first and then eventually to Europe four years later.

I found his behavior in Miami to be almost manic and to me it was over done melodrama that was completely out of character. It's hard to connect with a character when you can't believe in them. Cody, Hannah's husband, also fell into the same abyss of unbelievability when this formerly wonderful persona took on a cruel self -destructive nature. The actions by Faircloth and Cody were just too unbelievable to me and I could not continue. At page 178 I had to admit defeat. At some point I may try to finish the book but for the near future it's not happening. This is just my opinion. Readers have to decide for themselves if this book is a fit for them. It's billed as a Christian thriller so please make your own choice.

Author Bio: Randall Arthur is the bestselling author of Jordan’s Crossing and Brotherhood of Betrayal. He and his wife have served as missionaries to Europe for over thirty years. From 1976 till 1998, he lived in Norway and Germany as a church planter. Since 2000, he has taken numerous missions teams from the United States on trips all over Europe . Arthur is also the founder of the AOK (Acts of Kindness) Bikers’ Fellowship, a group of men who enjoy the sport of motorcycling. He and his family live in Atlanta , Georgia .This book was provided for review by The Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Group. For more info on Wisdom Hunter or to purchase online please visit Random House.